Living Water Shall Flow

We arrived at En Gedi one what must have been elementary school day field trip. Little boys and girls running everywhere. We watched one little guy in front of us as we were waiting in line for our iced coffee. He bought one little piece of candy at a time. Realizing he had enough for one more… and one more. He made sure that he left with no money and every piece of candy he could! Lol. They were pile on top of each other buying snack. There had to be at least one chaperone for every thirty kids… it. Was. Crazy!. 

We walked up to the lower falls and several people went down to edge of the water. They have made a nice wheelchair path to the overlook, but after that it gets very steep. We wanted everyone to get the idea of what it must have been like for David and his men to hide in this place. Last summer James and I

did the full hike up to Dodim’s cave where David cut a piece of Saul’s cloak. Yesterday’s weather was pleasant, nothing like the heat of June. It is a two hour hike one way and an hour and a half the way down. We didn’t do it this time, but James Doss did share with our group one of the insights about the place we were standing in:

In Ezekiel 47, We receive the following prophetic vision:

“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.”

We were just in Jerusalem. It says in Revelations, that water is flowing from the throne… The next section describes that as Ezekiel went forward. They kept measuring and the water got deeper and deeper the further east he went from Jerusalem. Which makes sense because geographically, the terrain starts dropping off down to the lowest place on earth. The Dead Sea behind us. This fresh water from En Gedi also flows from west to East and down to the Dead sea. 

The prophetic vision continues:

Ezekiel47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.

7 When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. 8 Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the [b]valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. 9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever [c]the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. 10 It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. 12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

So there will be fishermen from En Gedi to En Glaim. Meir, Where is En Glaim? “It is where our next hotel is. About 15 miles to the South, past Masada.” 

James: So, the waters here will be healed, the fish will return. There will be fisherman using this desert oasis as a port and all the way down to the South. The will be catching fish.

Meir tells us that there is a pipeline that will pump water from the Red Sea into the Dead Sea because the Dead Sea is drying up. They are almost down with the experiments to see how mmuch the ecology of the Dead Sea will change, but they are already seeing trees and fish and organisms return to the South. The valley is being resureected.

James smile at him and said, but we are looking for healing to come from the other direction. From Jerusalem. Meir, you told us once that the sign you were looking for, for the coming of Messiah was the water flowing from the Mount of Olives down to the Mediteranean and to the Dead Sea. We are longing for that as well. 

Meir responded yes… and patted James on the shoulder… Zechariah 14:8-9

And in that day it shall be
That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward ^[e]the eastern sea
And half of them toward ^[f]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.⁹ And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.

Meir went on to share with us about David in this place. He believes 

Building Courage

We got a late start toward Bethlehem because of some luggage issues. We were thankful that we did not have to change buses and that Meir got to ride with us. We stopped by the Three Arches shop to pick up our guide Joseph. He was a very sweet young Arab Christian man. His face was bright with love for his city and love for these holy places. He shared:

Bethlehem is the place that King David was born 1,000 years before Jesus was born in the same place. Joseph, earthly father to Jesus was born here as well.  This is the Capital of Christmas. The oldest church is the Church of the Nativity here in Bethlehem. We are 12 kilometers from Jerusalem. 

We continued driving to a neighborhood of Bethlehem call Bet Sahur: “House of the people who sleep in late.” This made me laugh and think of every house with teenagers… haha. The people who sleep in late here were the shift workers… the shepherds. So Bet Sahur is the House of the Shepherds. 

Bethlehem is famous for its trees. Its olive trees and its Cyprus trees. They decorate the

Cyprus trees around town to resemble our Christmas trees at home.

We arrived at Shepherds Field. We like coming here because you get a better sense of what the cave/barn would have been like that Jesus was born in.

When we pulled up. There was a young man holding a sheep. Jennifer hasn’t met an animal on the trip she didn’t want to befriend. She went over to the boy and asked she could pet the sheep. He said here and just handed the sheep over. I think the picture kind of captures the joy of this dear ones heart… haha. She kept saying I’m holding a sheep!! (And she continued to randomly say it for the rest of the day… I held a sheep!) We slipped the little boy a thank you gift for being so generous to delight our friend.

We stopped at the church in Shepherds Field. This is one of the four churches Italian Architect Beluzi built in the Holy Land. The angel statues are stunning and wind blown achievements in marble and bronze. The structure itself is built to resemble a tent. A bronze statue of Gabriel reaches out to you from above the door.

We stepped into the room and Joseph asked for a volunteer to read the open page there. Jen still on a high from … yes… holding a sheep jumped at the chance, but the joy overflowed into her reading. As she read she got more excited because she was reading a Christmas story she had read and heard many times before, but now her mouth was forming those words close to the very place they happened. Her joy was contagious. Joy like a shepherd. Joy to the World!

 

Daddy asked for a song. It just so happened to be the song we girls were trying to figure out together earlier. “O Come All Ye Faithful… Joyful and Triumphant.” Its like became clearer that this song was our personal invitation to Bethlehem. “Come ye, come ye to Bethlehem.” 

I pointed out the ceiling. That there were angels encircling the ceiling but all of the holes in the dome were to give the illusion of a multitude of angels appearing. Saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men.”

As we walked toward one of the caves Mary and Joseph would have been sent to. Joseph our guide let us know that today was the first day of spring and was also Mother’s Day! He said Happy Mother’s Day to the ladies on our trip. There are a couple of reasons why this is beautiful to me. First, we may not be here on Christmas, but what a great other holiday to be here… Happy Mother’s Day to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This is our first trip to Israel since Mrs. Bea Mullins passed away last year. We have remembered her in several places. She loved coming here. She started coming in 1971. Her last trip was when she was 80 in 2015. Shed be right here with us if she could, but we know she is.

Mother’s Day coincides with the first day of Spring here because it is about fruitfulness. I thought it was an interesting side note that none of the palm trees here produce fruit, but the ones in Jericho near the Dead Sea get more oxygen so they produce an exponential amount. Jericho has 1 million palm trees that overflow with fruit.

As we came to the edge of the mountain, Joseph reminded us that this field is also where Ruth and Boaz fell in love… very romantic. 

He took us down over the mountain into a cave we had never been to before. He wanted us to get a more authentic feeling of what the cave would have been like. The one at the top of the hill has a new floor. This on is still dusty. It was probably a favorite to be used because of how the entrance was. 

He pointed out that there was a tree whose roots were exposed in the cave. He began to share with us very personally. He said:

These roots are like my family. My family are Christians. My roots go deep here in Bethlehem. Christians were the majority here until the Ottoman Empire took over 1517-1917. The Muslim population now outnumbers the Christian. In Bethlehem, the city, there are 40,000 people. Only 15,000 of them are Christian. We are the minority, but because of visitors like you, we have a voice in what

happens in our city. There are so many pilgrims that come to see the place where Jesus was born that we have the majority say because you keep coming. Tourism is our city’s greatest source of income. The Christians stay living in Bethlehem because you all keep coming. So thank you for coming to Bethlehem.

Shepherd’s field has more than sixty caves. Shepherds were humble and they traveled a lot allowing the sheep to graze all over. I think this is why God chose them. They are humble enough to receive the news and they traveled about telling everyone what happened.

Pastor Deloris Henderson shared. It was AWESOME! (I'll transcribe it later)

I had a song on my heart before Ms. Deloris began to share. Thinking about David writing the psalms. He would have started writing in a field not too far from where we were. So I began to sing Travis Cottrell’s “Forevermore” based on Psalm 145.

Ms. Deloris stood up right after I sang to begin sharing: 

“Thank you, Pastor Thomas for this opportunity to share and thank you Elizabeth!!! For the scripture reference. If you would all turn to Psalm 145. (Everyone started laughing and shouting, “No Way!!!”) out of the mouth of two witnesses! I have a few words from Psalms 145. 

Beginning with Verse 9-13 KJV: 

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

I have chosen to speak from the theme of David who was a shepherd and also a king. He learned to be a king by shepherding sheep. We are told from the Word not to despise small beginnings. You can corral a thousand sheep and that will give you some principles for leading a nation. But also shepherding sheep, you have to learn how to be a defender of those sheep. David learned that by being out in the fields watching over his sheep by day and by night. Spending time with his sheep. He staved off wolves, bears and lions and your love for the sheep will outweigh you fear of the lion and the bear. Its just like a momma defending her child, a man defending his family. It is the same thing. You are afraid of the enemy, but your love for your family. Your love for your loved ones will outweigh your fears. 

 

Your love and devotion for God will outweigh your fear of giants. We don’t start off fighting giants. We start off with small things. It’s a wolf… then it’s a lion… then a bear, but there came a time when his courage in fighting the bear and the lion helped him to step up to the line and fight Goliath. Goliath was intimidating, taunting the armies of the Israel, blaspheming God, but then David had a personal relationship with God. He knew God. He knew His God was more powerful than the giant or even the Philistine army. 

A side note here is: Courage for one battle will give you courage for another battle. The bear, lions, giants. And your courage will encourage other peolpe’s courage. Cause when David killed Goliath, What did the armies of Israel do? First of all, they were back and being afraid. ‘We’re afraid! We’re afraid!” But when they realized David had actually killed the philistine giant.

They rounded the army of the Philistines and despoiled them. And later on in the life of David’s life, David’s mighty men realized he had already killed a giant and that gave them courage to kill the other four giants. Just because you kill one giant, that doesn’t mean all the giants are gone. Others are going to come. 

Battles sometimes lead to bigger battles. In our lives as Christians, sometimes we are going to have to realize that we think, “Well, I’ve overcome this temptation.” But the enemy is crafty. He’s not going to come with that same temptation. Its not going to look the same. Its not going to be the same size. He’s going to bring out the big guns. That’s why we cannot fight 2019 battles with 1918 weapons. We got to have some BIG GUNS!!! Hahah, Amen?! (Amen!) 

Your courage will encourage the courage in others. David took down a giant and the army of Israel stepped up. His might men stepped up to take down the other four giants. All because David had a personal relationship with his God and he knew his God. You have to have a personal relationship with your God. You have to know Him who He is. 

If we call Him El Shaddai. And call Him God Almighty. If we call Him Elohim then we have to believe that no matter what the situation is, our God is willing. He is willing. Sometimes, we as human beings, we let our problems and our situations overwhelm us, but then we have to fall back and regroup. Either He is or He ain’t! (That’s good! Alright now!) And our God, He always is!!! He is always willing to step up to whatever the situation is whether it is a migraine or cancer or whatever it is. Cancer is not bigger than God. 

Well if He heals me here that’s a testimony. If He heals me there, that’s still a testimony because I am going out believing that He was well able. He is a mighty God and we live to serve Him. That’s why… Pastor said it the other night, about why we should still have testimony in our services. To let people know what God has done. If He did it for you that builds my faith. Just like He did it for David in his day. 

He killed the lion and the bear. He killed a Goliath. God built up the faith of the people. That is why the people were willing to follow David. It got to the point that David was so precious to the people that they wouldn’t let him go out to battle. You stay here because you are the light of Israel. The people believe in you and trust in your God. We want you to be protected. We need to treasure the treasure we have within us. 

Don’t let people take your faith from you. You know, we see people walk away from the church. Walk away from God all of the time. We cannot let that happen to us. Why? Because He has been too good to us. If He had not done anything for me I could understand walking away, but I know its too late to discourage me now. You can go if you like, but I have promised God. I promised God that if I have to go, I’ll go by myself.  And when this trip came down, I tried to get my sisters to come with me and they didn’t want to come with me. I’m going, if I have to go by myself and I am here today! Praise the Lord!! 

That’s all I have, but thank you, Pastor Thomas for building up my courage to be here in Israel and to speak."  

We went to the Three Arches to get our shopping on. They now take you through the olive wood carving workshop to explain the different levels and prices of the olive wood statues. We recognized some faces in the workshop. Back there you see the prototypes of unusual requests… like E.T. and giraffes. A really cool behind the scenes.

Mom and I got to tell Maher Catawanti about Mom’s dreams about Mary. We asked if Mary

was there, he said she should be any minute. Mom said, “Many years ago I kept having a dream about the woman who worked by the back counter. Every time I dreamed of her, I would pray for her and her family. When we returned to Israel many years ago, I got to tell her my story. She came around the counter and hugged me. I asked her name. “Mary” That’s my daughter’s name.

(mom also asked for a picture. Mary touched her hair and said, I’m a mess…” Mom replied, “You are more beautiful than in my dreams.” They laughed.) As we were finishing this story with Maher, Mary got to work. When she saw mom, she had a spark of recognition and came running to mom and embraced her. Maher said with surprise, “She remembers her!!”

I am so thankful for Ms. Deloris’s word on courage. We needed it to build up ours in the next few moments. As we were in the shop, Meir who was allowed to join us on the bus and in there, quietly let us know that there was a situation happening. Nothing to be too frightened of but we needed to be ready to move.

Apparently, there was a strike being stirred up throughout the Palestinian territories by the PLO. Most of the businesses and shops were shut down in protest of a man who had been killed earlier in the day. This Palestinian man in a different city in the Gaza Strip, way to the South, had wrestled a gun away from a soldier of the Israeli army. He shot and killed the soldier, injured another. Shot and killed a civilian and injured another. He got away, but this morning that we were in Bethlehem the IDF had found the man responsible. They surrounded the house. They said “Come out and we will arrest you and take you to trial… If you don’t come out, we will use force, we know you are armed.” The man began shooting. They returned fire. The Israeli police have trained K-9 units with cameras. They sent in the canine officer and he showed them that the man was subdued. The Palestinian leadership used this to stir up a protest. They wanted all of the businesses, street vendors, etc. to go on strike. The Bethlehem police had come once to shut down the shop, but the owner would not let them in. Protecting us as we were still in there. The Police left. Once every one was finished shopping Daddy gathered us to say, we needed to move quickly and together. We didn’t want to frighten anyone, but we didn’t want them oblivious to the tense situation. Normally the bus would have been right outside the shop, but the police made him move a block down. The Texas bus had just gotten in the shop, when we heard sirens pulling up to the shop. James saw the Bethlehem police jump out in full armor. With only slits for the eyes and they started pounding on the shop door again because the owner had let another group in to shop. Our group just kept moving quickly to the bus. The police left again after the shop owner would not open for them. The Texas group didn’t have any more problems. 

I was just thankful for that word on building our courage earlier. I was also thankful that Meir was with us. And his partner in crime, Roni our driver. They actually serve on the Israeli police force together and were telling us stories the day before. Roni says that Meir likes to scare the drivers he pulls over with threats that hurt the most: “Call your friend to come pick you up… I am confiscating your car.” Roni says he has to stay in the police car because he’ll give Meir away by laughing too hard. Meir rarely gives tickets. He said “they remember the possibility of the maximum they could lose better than a slap on the wrist and I get to look like the nice guy when I let them go.”

May you have courage for whatever you face today.

This is How I Fight My Battles

The morning began with a short walk through the Jaffa Gate. Meir had us pause to check and see if we could enter the Tower of David from the lower entrance… aka the exit. He found out by talking to the guard that the museum wasn’t open yet, but he is friends with the manager and gave her a call. She said, “What do you mean they won’t let YOU in?” So she called the guards and we got an early entrance into the courtyard and museum area. It was refreshing not to be crushed by crowds. We could take her time. Thank you Meir and the mysterious manager.

The Tower of David is an unusual museum. It is an old watch tower and fortress. It has layer upon layer of history built upon it just like everywhere, but what is unusual is in the architecture of the courtyard you can see all of the different architectural styles very clearly… from the time before Jesus, to Herod’s version in the time of Jesus, to Muslim, to Byzantine, to Crusaders and to the Ottomans. There are even photographs of the British
aristocracy having tea in their Victorian dresses and uniforms in this very spot. 

The museum is laid out in a most fascinating way. Every room is a different layer of history. The first area depicts the pagan Canaanites and Jebusites that lived here first. Then it moves to David conquering the city, establishing for the first time in 1,000 BC, Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (I didn’t realize we started our day hearing those words, until I read my journal. Why is that striking? We ended the day hearing that 8 presidents before him promised to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, but President Donald Trump is the first one to keep his word. It was really important to Daddy that we get to go to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. When we arrived security came on the bus and asked us to only photograph the seal on the wall. Not to photograph the building or any of the security guards for their protection. We all jumped out and got our picture taken together. 

I told Meir back on the bus that we watched the ceremony Live at home in the states. He said it was like a holiday here. People were celebrating. Why? Guys, there are many many people in the world that believe that there should not be an Israel and that they have no right to this land. Yet the proof that a Jewish people, lived and ruled here long before all the rest. And Jerusalem was her capital. They have not been allowed to call Jerusalem the capital

because people wanted to keep it an “international” city… well its going to be that no matter what. But more than one country cannot claim the same capital. Modern Israel has always wanted the capital to be Jerusalem. The Knesset is here. It is like their Capitol Building where their Congress meets. The president lives here. In fact, the prime minister’s house or “White House” is less than a mile from our hotel in Jerusalem. In fact after visiting the Embassy, our bus was delayed, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drove by us this afternoon. Jerusalem is already operating as the capital, but the international community does not want it made official because it would add legitimacy to Israel’s claim to be allowed to have a Jewish state here. All of the other Embassies are in Tel Aviv. That’s why it is so momentous that the United States was one of the first to stand with Israel on this matter. Whatever you think of our president, he kept a promise that the 7 presidents before him could not accomplish to our friend and ally, Israel.

So I kind of skipped ahead there to the end of the day, and now I want to jump back to the
museum. One reason why I love the Tower of David is that it gives you a visual understanding of what the city and the people that lived in it through the ages looked like. One particular part is every station has a map of the outline of the current Old City in black and then it has a filled in section that shows where the City was during that time in history. For instance, the City of David where David’s palace and city was, is not even within the walls of the Old City. Its on a mountain outside. When Solomon built on, it shows how the city began to expand into the upper parts and slowly fills in the place where the modern outline is.

So we start with Joshua coming into the Promised Land. The country was divided among the tribes according to their sizes. How many tribes was the land divided unto? Yep, 11. “Wait, not 12?” Two things: the tribe belonging to Joseph was divided into two half-tribes for his sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. But also the tribe of Levi did not get any land. The priestly tribe was to be cared for by the other tribes while they took care of the articles, the House and the ministry to God. 

Jennifer asked Meir if he knew what tribe he was from. He said sure! All of the Jews living today are of the tribe of Judah, except a small percentage that carrying the Cohen DNA meaning they are of the tribe of Levi. 

Israel became invaded by Philistines who systematically began building cities around the edges of the country. With plans to conquer it. They tried to take the land from the tribes.

Meir pointed out that King Saul tried to empty Israel of her enemies, the Philistines, and he failed because he became more obsessed with hunting down and killing David. King David managed to conquer the country and make room for Israel. Because David did all of the warring, Solomon was allowed to be a king with a free mind. Not burdened down by strategies of war. 

Each king had their own battles to fight. They chose different ways to fight them. King Saul

chose to turn on his friend and servant losing his battle. David battled through worship, through believing God, through listening to men of God and strategizing according to the word of the Lord. Solomon battled with his pen. He battled by trying to impart the wisdom God so graciously gave him.

When the Queen of Sheba returned to Ethiopia after having seen the beauty of Jerusalem herself, two hundred Jewish families accompanied her. Some of them returned, but some stayed. It wasn’t long ago that the Ethiopian Jewish branch has been reunited to the Jews of the World. In fact, Rabbi Moshe’s son fell in love and married a beautiful Ethiopian girl. People started showing up at the wedding that weren’t invited because they wanted to witness this beautiful reunification of separated peoples. Rabbi Moshe said: “We taught them our dances and they taught us theirs and we laughed a lot. This is prophecy being fulfilled.”

Division came to the kingdom after Solomon. The people and the kings of Judah and the Kings of Israel decided to have separate places of worship rather than every one coming to Jerusalem. This gave way for the kingdom to be conquered and carried into exile in Babylon. The Temple was destroyed. The Jewish people were in exile until King Cyrus of Persia gave permission for them to return and rebuild.

Then the Greeks conquered and turned the Temple into a temple to one of their many gods. The Maccabees revolted and reclaimed the Temple, cleansing it for God. The story of Hanukkah happened here. Meir said this is a place in history where the Jewish people must thank the Christian for preserving documentation of history. The Apocrypha (not included in our canonical Bible) contains the story of the Maccabees which helped them fill in the details of the tradition that had been passed down for ages. 

After the Maccabees, the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC. Meir told us about his love/hate relationship with Herod the Great. His mother was Jewish. He was born in Edom, but he went to school in Rome and stayed in the home of Caesar Augustus. So when he was looking for someone to rule over the Jewish people, he chose the guy that lived in his own house who was part Jewish (even though he never practiced his faith a day in his life). The love hate relationship comes in. We love all the renovations he made to the temple and city and surrounding cities. It worked. People liked the results. What they didn’t like was the fact that he was being called King of the Jews when he didn’t really know anything about what being Jewish meant. Jewish in name only. Also, him being called “king” was an affront because all of the kings of Israel came from the line of David except one King Saul. They said who is this Herod? Is he a son of David?

Then Jesus came. There is proof historically that he lived during this time. Forty years after Jesus was gone, the Romans were done trying to rule the Jews on their home turf. They destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and scattered the Jewish people across the known world so they could not organize and revolt.

We ascended the staircase to one of the most breathtaking 360 views of the Old City. It is worth the climb to be able to see all of the rooftops of the Old city with the Mount of Olives as backdrop… and then turn to see Mount Zion and its unique skyline with Dormition Abbey. Stunning!

Some of the group descended into the café, coffee out area… James took a crew up on the battlements to walk on top of part of the city walls. I ran the last crew on a bullet point tour through 2,000 years of history. 70 AD to British occupation. 

So our next stop was a special treat for me. Last summer, James and I met a sweet couple from Switzerland, Didier and Miriam. Miriam was pregnant with their first child- Rueben. In
Switzerland, they are both teachers and part of their package with the school system there is to be able to take sabbaticals. So for their year off they decided to volunteer their time at Succat Hallel. 

Succat Hallel (Hebrew for Tabernacle of Praise) is a dynamic community of worshippers and intercessors from five continents drawn together to stand as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. 

Started as a living room ministry, Succat Hallel has a beautiful facility overlooking Mount
Zion and the Old City of Jerusalem. “Since then we have been crying out day and night 24/7 – until He makes Jerusalem a praise in all the earth. All who have come have the common desire to minister first unto the Lord, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and intercede for Israel and the nations.”

James and I came last summer to join our friends while Didier led worship. What we loved and it was true today, it is one of the few places you can worship freely. We felt the presence of the Lord as soon as we stepped in the room that day and today.

I reached out to Miriam to see if she could get us some more info about visiting. Pastor gave us the go ahead.

It took some maneuvering, but we were able to get the bus into the neighborhood. As we entered the foyer, we could already hear the music coming from above. We entered the room and the view itself is breathtaking. You can see Mount Zion, the Temple Mount, and the Mount of Olives.

Being that it was our first time here it makes you feel uncomfortable, but as we walked in they were singing, “You are welcome here… you are welcome here….” Now I know they were talking about God being welcomed here. But it was a lovely invitation to come in the room.

I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity to worship over the city. So I got as close to the full wall window as I could. I sang my little heart out. Worshipped my little heart out!

We shifted into the phrase “Highest Praises, Lord Over All…” from Jeremy Riddle’s song “Be Enthroned” Oh to sing these words over Jerusalem and all who have walked the streets, who are walking them and who will walk them:

We've come to join the song
Sung long before our lives
To raise our voice along
Heaven and earth alike

We've seen Your faithful hand
Your mercy without end
A King who bled and died
A God who sacrificed

Be enthroned upon the praises of
A thousand generations
You are worthy, Lord of all
Unto You the slain and risen King
We lift our voice with heaven
Singing worthy, Lord of all

All through this life we lead
And on through eternity
Our endless praise, We'll cry
Jesus be glorified

Highest Praises
Lord of all”

It was almost more than I could stand. So I sat by the window and painted while the young men continued to lead. I shifted into prayer and painting. With an ear bent to how the Spirit was leading him the lead worshipper Josh.

He Continued..

“Nothing is as strong as your blood… nothing”

“It may look like I'm surrounded
But I'm surrounded by You

This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles”

As we sang this… it made me think about the fact that we all face battles in different ways. I want to face my battles with worshipping God like we were doing in that room. The leader of the room began to read the following Scripture.

Psalm 46 TPT

God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge!
You’re a proven help in time of trouble—
more than enough and always available whenever I need you.
2 So we will never fear
even if every structure of support[b] were to crumble away.
We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes,
moving mountains and casting them into the sea.
3 For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves
cannot erode our faith in you.
Pause in his presence
4 God has a constantly flowing river whose sparkling streams
bring joy and delight to his people.
His river flows right through the city of God Most High,
into his holy dwelling places.[c]
5 God is in the midst of his city,[d] secure and never shaken.
At daybreak his help will be seen with the appearing of the dawn.
6 When the nations are in uproar with their tottering kingdoms,
God simply raises his voice
and the earth begins to disintegrate before him.
7 Here he comes!
The Commander!
The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side.
The God of Jacob fights for us!
Pause in his presence
8–9 Everyone look!
Come and see the breathtaking wonders of our God.
For he brings both ruin and revival.
He’s the one who makes conflicts end
throughout the earth,
breaking and burning every weapon of war.
10 Surrender your anxiety![e]
Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God.
I am the God above all the nations,
and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.
11 Here he stands!
The Commander!
The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side!
The God of Jacob fights for us!
Pause in his presence

This is how I fight my battles… the mighty Lord of the Angel Armies is on our side.

We were only able to stay for a half hour. But it was so refreshing. Many of our pilgrims thanked us for this moment just spent simply in prayer and worship.

Next was St. Peter of Gallacantu.  This is Caiaphas’s house where Jesus was imprisoned and also where Peter denied Jesus in the Courtyard three times. A lot of pictures of roosters around here. 

We had to wait our turn to get down into the cistern/prison. I encouraged our people to
identify with what Jesus faced in this hole. These were his last moments alone. How did He fight the battle? He had already set his eyes on the joy set before Him. The last words He uttered in prayer before this were: Not my will. But Thine be done. 

He had just been interrogated by a group of angry people. He was about to face a lot more people completely stripped of his clothes. He knew it was beginning. What He knew from the foundation of the Earth. That He was the Lamb being led to the slaughter. He was alone for a brief moment here in the hole. What did he and the Father communicate in those last moments? 

As we went down, I had asked Tanieya to go down first and sing while we all joined her.

She sang Jesus Messiah:

He became sin, who knew no sin
That we might become his righteousness
He humbled himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing, love so amazing

Jesus messiah, name above all names
Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven
Jesus messiah, lord of all

His body the bread, his blood the wine
Broken and poured out all for love
The whole earth trembled, and the veil was torn
Love so amazing, how can it be? Your love's so amazing, yeah

I prayed while we were down there. "Jesus, thank you for everything. thank you for being here. We have come to say thank you. If space and time fold in on its self and you could some how hear us while you are alone here. May we minister to you as the angels are doing. We love you. We wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be who we are if you hadn't walked this road first.

Pastor Thomas shared with us in the courtyard:

2 Kings 3:16

Out of order 

Jehosaphat & Elijah 

Bring me a musician

He needed worship before he could get the word. Make the valley full of ditches. He will deliver the Moabites into your hand. Ruin good land with stone. So often we are waiting for God to do everything for us.

Elisha had to go worship before God before he got a word. Sometimes you’ll be in a hard place. He got to a quiet place. It was during worship Elisha got a word. He had to do action after word. When the enemy saw filled 

ditches they thought of it as blood. God changed the perception to win the victory. You don’t always have to fight. The victory was won in the action. 

Elijah & Widow

How poor do you have to be? How down do you have to be? To say this is our last meal. And then Elijah asks for the last of their food. I am not a fan of being a beggar and poor mouthing. But Elijah says, “Give me some first.”

You begin with giving then receiving. The flour didn’t run out, nor did the oil.

If we are going to win God’s war with His strategy, we will have to do His odd requests. God

needs us to agree. We have authority in prayer. As sons of Adam and daughters of Eve to speak things into existence. I never met anyone who wanted to do God’ will that ever missed God’s will. You should be ready to do whatever God asks. Rev. T.D. Hogue: “God will lead men down foolish roads to see who will follow.” God will lead His people down foolish trails to see who will follow.

Not everybody thinks about you as much as you think they do. Don’t measure your obedience by what other people are think doing saying, or criticizing. You’ll waste your time.

Dig ditches, bring pots to be filled with oil. Do what He asks.

After this... we went to Yad Vashem... The Holocaust museum and memorial. Which is hard to speak of... let alone write about. You could spend hours there and not hear every story or read every word. But it must never be forgotten.

I feel like if you made it to the end of this extra long blog you should win an achievement badge or something! Seriously, thank you for joining me by reading. It gives me the desire to keep going.

Cover All

Today was the day to walk the Via Dolorosa. The Way of the Cross. In some ways, it can be so hard to make a real deep connection with where you are. (That can be true always.) But I always am trying to watch out for our first timers... whispering a phrase that cuts through all of the history lessons and sermons and just says... Jesus carried the Cross here for you. One of my favorite reactions to one of these phrases came from Pastor Deloris Henderson. We were transitioning from one site to the next. I whispered to her that our next stop was Calvary and that she would be able to place her hand in the hole where the Cross had been. She physically pulled back from me, hand went to her heart, eyebrows shot up in surprise, and her mouth shaped into "What?! I didn't know that was possible!" It tugged at my heart so much. It brought it all alive for me again. Her connection, reminded me of my own. And that was what today was a series of echoing connections. What sparked in one person and they would share, ignited their neighbor. God designed our walk of faith that we would not only cooperate with Him, but also with each other. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself."

Y'all! Did we ever get to be with some neighbors. I honestly do not remember the City of Jerusalem being this crowded. Roby (our tour agency owner) says that April-May & September-October were the high holy days... but now March has been added to the mix. He and I had a great chat in the lobby last night. He said he had like seven other groups in Israel right now. So he was answering every call to make sure they had everything they needed, just like for us. "No Problem!" We are normally his only group. I am so thankful for the prosperity of a full schedule. God continue to bless Yarkon and all they facilitate. 

So it is very crowded. Every site. Packed from wall to wall. Rabbi Moshe shared with us not to be distressed by how many pilgrims were here. They are prophecy being fulfilled. I tried to remind our group to look at the people. To be thankful for them. That all of them are here because they love Jesus too and want to "identify in His sufferings" but I also encouraged them not to be afraid to use their Jerusalem elbows. Haha. 

So Meir gave us a real treat. Many people who come to Israel never get to walk up to the The Golden Gate. This is the one pictured in the very front of all of the pictures of the full city picture from the Mount of Olives. This is the gate Saladin sealed up. because they heard the Messiah... the savior would enter the city through this gate. So they sealed it super thick. Of course Meir said... an Apache helicopter would deal with that in a split second. There is nothing, no not one thing that will stop Jesus from opening that Gate. Besides a New Jerusalem will descend that has an open door.

I explained to the group that this is a place spoken of as the Judgement Seat of Christ. He will decide who enters the city. This is where the Book of Life is read. 

Romans 14:10
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

We moved on to the Pool of Bethesda. The church of St. Anne. Pastor Thomas reviewed

several miracles he personally saw redeemed in that place. One was a woman who was having marital problems. Her husband told her: "If you go on this trip to Israel, I will not be here when you get back. Make your choice." She came anyway, because she couldn't ignore her desire to obey what she believed the Lord had shown her. Prayer was made for her & her husband by the area of the pool. It was moments later the that the group emergency cell phone rang. It was her husband apologizing to her for making life so hard on her. He told her he hoped she had an amazing trip and that they would talk more when she got home about the future. Won't God do it!

Then Daddy asked Sheba to share her testimony which she does so excellently in this video:

We used this stories to stir up our faith just like the waters were stirred by angels in times past. Everyone asked to be anointed either for themselves or someone dear to them. We had prayer and lifted all up.

We stepped in the very crowded sanctuary of the Church of St. Anne. I had asked Tanieya to be ready to sing. She stood before us and poured her heart into "Open the Eyes of My Heart" A priest stepped up to her and whispered for her to turn around and sing into the

open basilica instead of facing the people so the sound would carry. I thought it was very kind of him. Normaly this room has an 8-second decay, but it was so crowded the sound could not bounce off the walls. But Tanieya did amazing! She worshipped on through!

Then we went to the Terra Sancta Museum. It is a small presentation at the Church of Flagellation or Humiliation. Last year it had opened only a few weeks before James and I came to the Holy Land. So no one in our group had seen it. Not even Meir. He didn't know it was there. It is a presentation told from the point of view of Jerusalem herself. She talks of all the times she has been destroyed, but she always is resurrected. Meir said he would be bringing groups back. 

The Pavement was next. Meir shared with us that if he were us... this would be one of the most emotional spots for him because it is one of the few places that they are confident Jesus would have been. This is where the Romans gambled over his clothes. He was stripped of everything. He owned nothing of his own at this point. He was left with nothing. He chose to remain in this state of nothingness so that we might have all.

Meir called on me to sing, "Holy Ground." 

HOLY GROUND

As I walked through the door, I sensed His presence
And I knew this was a place where love abounds
For this is the temple, Jehovah God abides here
We are standing in His presence on holy ground

We are standing on holy ground
And I know there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
We are standing in His presence on holy ground

In His presence there is joy beyond all measure
And at His feet peace of mind can still be found
And if you have a need, I know He has the answer
Reach out and claim it for we are standing on holy ground

We are standing on holy ground
And I know there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
We are standing in His presence on holy ground 

It was nice that by the end of the song… I did feel that presence. Especially in the second verse.

From here, we had lunch at our friend’s restaurant. We’ve been coming here for years now. We needed to have a quick lunch if we were going to make our next stops and they surely accommodated! We were in and out in 20 minutes or so! I did lean over to some of the other tables and say we were headed to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre next. That eating lunch was not one of the stations of the Cross. Jesus did not stop to eat, but He did make a way so that we could.

We stood in the courtyard area of the Holy Sepulchre and Meir shared with us about the site that there were 7 denominations under one roof. They rarely agreed on anything. Including the ladder on the second floor window. One day a monk came to wash the window using that ladder without permission. When the other groups heard about it, he was ordered to stop, but they could never decided which

group should be allowed to remove the ladder… Guys, this ladder has been there for 60 years or more. People are weird. But we need each other.. The Coptic priests of Ethiopia are very poor, they could not maintain this facility on their own. The Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox cover the costs of the sanctuaries from their large donations. They still need each other.

Continuing the conversation of the multiple denominations, I explained to our pilgrims that none of the denominations trusted the other with the key to the front door to the church. They were afraid that the other would lock them out and change the locks. So there is a Muslim family that lives in the neighborhood that has the keys and the responsibility for locking and unlocking Calvary every morning and every night. I finished saying these words and we walk over to where my dad was. Pastor Thomas sat on a bench within the entrance of the church. A man was seated next to him. They struck up a conversation. He was of the very family I had just spoken of. Daddy introduced us all to this man who has shook the hands of the popes, presidents and royalty. He had shown dad the pictures of him meeting all those people near that very place they were standing. He asked us all to thank him for his years of service and his family’s service to the church. He nodded. He then reached into his wallet and handed Daddy a business card. So cool.

I took a group up the steep stairs to the place where they could place their hand in the hole where the cross had once been. There was a long line so I took the opportunity to use the sound system Whisper packs. Each pilgrim has a listening device and I have the microphone (or Meir does). We laugh because he asks if I want to do the tour at certain sites. Lol. I explained that we were standing on the hill. 

I told them that a couple of trips I ago I started doing some research into the artwork and structures that we visit that we don't always pay attention to. When I was looking into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I kept coming across a room known as the Chapel of Adam. Chapel of Adam? What does that have to do with Calvary? According to Jewish tradition, Noah gathered the bones of Adam and placed them in the ark. Eventually Adam was buried at the place of the skull. (This also gives the name Golgatha... place of the skull. It could mean Adam's skull.) The Chapel of Adam is located directly below where the hole where the Cross was placed in the ground. When you step into the alcove underneath the cross you can see that there is a split in the rock that goes deep into the ground. This is because when Jesus was on the Cross, a great earthquake happened and the cross split the rock below. You can still see the crack. Jesus poured out every drop of blood within Him. This means it flowed down the Cross... through that crack... and potentially on to the bones of Adam. So the blood covered the First Adam... and just like the Christmas song, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing":

Adam’s likeness now efface,
  Stamp Thine image in its place:
Final Adam from above,
  Reinstate us in Thy love.

I told our group that from that day on many of the churches we walk in depicting the crucifixion in artwork... there I find a skull at the base of the Cross. Symbolizing this very thing.

Aaron spoke up after I shared while we were still in line. "It is so wonderful that His Blood reaches back to the beginning." And it reaches all the way forward.

On the ceiling of the area where the Cross is are little mosaics of important figures in the Bible. All standing to bear witness to the Messiah. Having played their part in the greatest story ever told, they stand as witness just as the people standing in the room are witnesses to His powerful work in our lives.

We went on to the City of David. This is the excavation of the palace of David, but also the place where King Hezekiah carved tunnels to reroute the water so Jerusalem had enough supply during siege. 

Meir was excited about showing us the oldest toilet they have found in Israel is right there in the City of David. He made sure to share an old saying, “you know how wealthy a man is by how close his bedroom is to his toilet.” Well this house they found was a house of a wealthy individual. Lol.

We went down to the Gihon Spring. James shared about Solomon being anointed King down by this pool. Before Solomon was crowned… before David was even gone yet another man organized his own coronation, Adonijah. He conveniently did not invite the priest, the prophet, nor the rightful king. Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Solomon were not invited. Why? Because they would have put a stop to the matter… which they did

anyway. 

James shared that there is a proper order to the way things are done. God likes order. David goes on to order Zadok, Nathan, and Solomon to be taken to the spring we were standing at. Along with David’s mightiest warrior Benaiah (who according to 2 Samuel 23:20 … “He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.”)

No one is going to mess with a lion chaser guarding the future king.

Adonijah heard the parade while he was feasting at his own coronation… thinking the festivities might be for him… but finding out while he was celebrating, David made Solomon king in front of everyone.

Adonijah begged for forgiveness from Solomon. Solomon spared him saying, if you do anything wicked, I will change this stay of execution… What does he do? He asks for the hand of the woman that was basically King David’s electric blanket back in the day. Abishag was a young virgin who slept next to the king to provide body warmth but King never knew her. Adonijah asked Bathsheba to ask King Solomon to give him Abishag, for her to be his… Solomon responded: 

²² “How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?” King Solomon demanded. “You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side.”

²³ Then King Solomon made a vow before the Lord: “May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request. ²⁴ The Lord has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the Lord lives, Adonijah will die this very day!” ²⁵ So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death.

In Solomon’s wisdom he knew granting such a request would give legitimacy to his brother’s claims, but King David had promised the throne for Solomon to Bathsheba long before.

James went on to reaffirm his point that if we do things out of proper order, it could end up costing us so much on the other end.

Solomon needed proper covering from the priest, the prophet, the king and the warrior to see his throne established.

We kept heading down hill. Y’all I wish you could heard Ms. Deloris’s laughter and protests echo off of the walls of the tunnels. Shes not a big fan of heights, depths, or closed in places… oops. Jeff had ahold of her arm helping her and I heard her shout while I was way above her in the cave, “The Lord Jesus is going to have to come way deep to save us today! Lord help us!!!” and then shed laugh. She said, she would ask more questions next time. Haha. Like “Are they stairs? Or are they STAIRS!” 

But Jennifer…. She was ear to ear excited. It reminded me of Mari, my sister’s, first trip down through there. 

 

We reached the Pool of Siloam and it was very crowded and completely renovated… absolutely stunning. I shared about the man blind from birth, who Jesus spit in some clay, rubbed in the man’s eyes and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. This man was interrogated by the Pharisees. This sassy blind man, said you’ve already asked me about this over and over. Are you wanting to hear the testimony so that you can become his disciples as well? They threw him out of the place. When Jesus heard about what this man said… He found him:

“Do you believe in the Son of ^[g]God?”He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”John 9:35-39

This guy had to have some help to get to the pool. The Pharisees were not looking to cover. They were looking to expose. They thought fraud was being committed. But Jesus came back and covered the man and invited Him to believe.

We must cover one another. God made this wild world that we needed to rely on Him and we need to rely on each other. 

The service this night was great and I will input the notes later, but it has a lot to do with needing each other.